Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..
My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.
I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch
Valid point RPM. But everyone appreciates when you can give a fellow kiter a hand. Self launching either on land or a drift launch I find is much better and should be apart of a kiters skill, as you only have yourself to blame if it ends up in the trees or worse.
Select to expand quoteRPM said..
Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..
My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.
I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch
Self landing and Launching doesn't prove you a self sufficient kiter. Ive kited foo near on 12 years and the last 6 its been my job, if I see a fellow kiter on the beach Im always asking for a launch. Sure I can do it myself but would rather not take that risk if someone is there to help….
Im guessing your the kind of dude that shows up here, refuses a launch even when offered then gets pissed when we all laugh as your kite ends up in the bush.
Lets not turn the friendly sport of kiting into the hostility of the surf lineup, help each other out as much as you can, you never know when you might be the one who needs it the most
I don't require launches because I'm happy to launch and land myself confidently and safely. Also I have never gone in the bushes or come close to.
All I'm saying is that people should learn to self launch and land as it's not that hard.
I wouldn't want to see everyone taking this approach.
But if once in a while someone offered a lesson in how to self launch or self land (and the wind is at the lighter end of the scale, no public on the beach, nice sand, wide beach, plenty of room for if I operate the safety .....) then I would probably say: thanks very much!
I have self launched and self landed out of necessity, but I always ask for a launch or a land if there is one available. It's safer.
Ya m8 , every time you selflaunch or land theres always that increased chance that something goes west.
Also theres more wear on your kites.
For sure every kiter should learn the skills , but yeah, its always the better option to have someone hold the kite for you.
Have to agree with the guy above who said "Yeah sure just give me a sec".
Select to expand quoteRPM said...
I don't require launches because I'm happy to launch and land myself confidently and safely. Also I have never gone in the bushes or come close to.
All I'm saying is that people should learn to self launch and land as it's not that hard.
Most of us can safely self l and l but it ,,Depends,, on where you are, self launch and land is a big no at my set up , heaps of weed with plenty of sticks cuttle fish shells drop offs in the terrain, and during the last few days the wind has been that strong your kite won't sit still without a heap of sand, let me know if your coming for a kite here , that way we can sit on the rock wall and have a giggle at you
Been kiting 4 years, and I can self launch no problem. But I probably only do about half the time. My line of thinking is like this:
Are there people, especially non kiters, hanging out on the beach downwind?
If so, I'm definitely looking for a kiter to help out to ensure a safe launch. And to help out if things go south. I don't care if they are 40m away...I'll ask for a launch. Especially if there are little kids downwind.
If no people downwind, but there's another kiter closeby, I'll wait until a break in his routine - done pumping, done laying out lines, etc - and ask for a launch.
If none of the above is true, then I'll launch myself. Never had an issue with it...but definitely safer with another set of hands involved.
Bottom line - always minimise risk to the non kiting beach goers!
It takes like 1-2 mins top to launch them, it's also safer for everyone. If your in the middle of walking your lines just point them towards another kiter.
I prefer to self.launch but sometimes can risk damage to kite due to sticks and crap on the beach
Select to expand quoteRPM said...
Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..
My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.
I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch
I could not disagree with you more and I don't believe you shoud be recommending others to do it.
I have been kiting for 6years and used to teach. I am capable of self launching and landing "safely"
Firstly you induce unnecessary wear on your kite self launching and landing even if it's on fine sand. If there are shells or twigs under the sand it could easily rip your leading edge or canopy.
The beauty of asking a fellow Kiter to launch you can do your last check on lines and bridle to ensure set up is correct. I have witnessed many self launches go wrong even with experienced kiters including myself who may or may not have checked and double checked their set up. It only takes one twisted bridle to loose control of you launch and break a neck.
By self launching when other Kiters are around the beginners begin to think that looks easy and is an appropriate way of launching and may try to copy you and end up in strife.
Finally, to decrease the risk of all the above it takes 30secs to help a fellow kiter and launch their kite. You should not be teaching others the correct way to self launch unless there is no other options at their beach. After u do your "5 min of teaching" and go out and enjoy your session how would you feel if your student may just mess up his launch and break his neck when there are 5 potential launchers standing nearby and you "encouraged him not to be a baby!!
Rant over. Sorry if I come across as an ass but I kite a lot and have seen some nasty I codenta at my local!!!
Happy winds!
Have to agree with majority. Why create unnecessary risks to self and others buy self launching for the sake of asking someone for 2 mins of there time. I bet Rpm would be happy for someone to grab his kite on a failed launch getting dragged down beach.
After ripping and wearing out kites on rough sand, sharp rocks, possible sticks its just not worth it unless no one is around.
on a safety note, self launch gives you no second chance, ive been kiting for a fair few years and on the odd time a line gets wrapped around something, its easily done, and sometimes its through no fault of your own, I had a line wrap around a wingtip deflate valve , so on lauch it pulled the stopper and deflated the kite, as enyone knows a deflated or deflating kite in strong winds is a scarey time, a couple of slaps in the sand until I pulled the safety, in standard winds you have time, ive installed a launch landing pole at our local spot, a pine pole buried approx. 1mtr deep with 6 bags of rapid set around it, it has a shackle attatched for kiters to clip on to, with this you can safely launch , check your lines , the safe pull of the wind , before you attatch yourself , on landing its simply the reverse, the reason I set this up was ive seen a fair few dodgy moments, and one close to being a fatality, since this has been installed we all teather launch from the post, why wouldn't you, all the self launchers have adapted, self launch and land however is an important skill to have with the emphasis on landing, but saying that id rather pull the safety as a safe land method if need be, launching and landing your fellow kiters and new kiters gets you respect, being selfish putting you time ahead of others safety makes you a c888ck head imho
From the first time I asked a fellow kiter to launch or land me till now everybody has given me a smile and helped and I have always give the same help back to whoever asks and for as many times as required. It's a two way unsaid agreement that I enjoy about this sport and I'm not about to break that friendly cycle. There's enough arrogants in this world without creating more. Be happy
it's easier.
Rpm is offering free coaching launching and landing lessons . Limited spots . Get in quick
Sometimes I offer to launch before I get asked. It takes f all off your kiting time.
Spread the luurrve brother.
Select to expand quoteRPM said..
Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..
My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.
I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch
what a tosser ! 
Once there was a man
named RPM
which stood for Redthumb Producing Man.
He didn't like launching kites
'cause he was thinking about dykes
on bikes.
Then he went to the internet
where he felt safe
but even there
noone could care.
He laughed and laughed and laughed
but went to bed sad
because he was mad
that noone launched his kite that day
and he put his cabrinha in a tree
Select to expand quoteHaydn24 said..
Once there was a man
named RPM
which stood for Redthumb Producing Man.
He didn't like launching kites
'cause he was thinking about dykes
on bikes.
Then he went to the internet
where he felt safe
but even there
noone could care.
He laughed and laughed and laughed
but went to bed sad
because he was mad
that noone launched his kite that day
and he put his cabrinha in a tree
There was a bloke called Hayden 24
who thought with his rhyme and verse, all would adore
Turned out he was a nothing but a bore
Select to expand quoteRPM said..
Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..
My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.
I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch
As a noob I am working on progressing my capability, so far things have moved from body drag to water start and now turns and edging are the go. Currently I lack the confidence to self launch but look forward to the day I will be able to.
RPM if I am reading you clearly what you want is for us noobies to make sure we don't waste your valuable time....no dramas my side, experience so far is there are plenty positive quality people in the sport willing to put back what they took out as beginners. One a side note is it safe to assume you could self launch when you started, always better to practice what you preach.
for me personally I look forward to the day I can put back more than I take from this great sport and awesome community we have.
Murphy says that there is an increased likelihood of destroying your kite and body when there is someone there to help you launch/land (and almost 100% when someone has offered their assistance and you say no).
Safety aside -
2 minutes is nothing, and a friendly smile & a 'no worries' or 'how was your session?' may just make someone else's day.
And that person may just be the good friend you haven't met yet.
Im with you rpm next time ill go for the jugular. There will be newb blood and guts all over the place.
Merry Christmas rpm let's hope you don't witness a fellow kiter getting seriously hurt whilst trying to land there kite
and lets hope your nxt sheit is a hedgehog
Please have a rethink of your position on this.it doesn't take that long to launch or land someone a minute max and often I find you can give them a bit of advice if they are doing it wrong.we all had to learn at some point.even if you don't want to help others do it for yourself as if a self launch goes wrong up wind of you especially in strong wind it can really injure others. I've seen some one really get hurt when a self launch went wrong and the kite slammed on her neck.as you've got your back turned you have no chance.or you could take up windsurfing you don't need anyone for that sport and it's still fun.hope you don't get offended by my post I really don't mean it that way.ps what a great season this is turning into
What's the big deal helping someone? Create some karma for your self. Yesterday someone in St Kilda got my board and sunnies after a better than usual face plant and dropping and inverting the kite and drifting downwind quite a bit. (Thank you very much - if you are reading this, as I was struggling to get back) The day before I got someone's board in Brighton..... karma.
Let's keep it friendly and remember when you were a beginner and did not feel secure about kiting. Asking someone to launch you is not unreasonable and letting them wait a few minutes while you fix your lines is reasonable too. That does not mean it is not a great service to teach people self launching and landing. We all need to know that stuff eventually and I wish it was shown to me in the early days of learning. For what it is worth I learned self landing properly from The Actionsport WA video. It is the way to go as you won't always have room to have your kite go all over the place as you flag it.(
RPM while everyone celebrates Christmas with their loved ones you sad man are sitting in front of a screen once again qualifying yourself as the biggest kook as well as dick. Do us all a favour and self launch yourself into a brick wall please. Your contributions are a waste of everyone's time. It is especially those experienced and good kiters who are happy to help others while wannabies like yourself will never get there. See a psychiatrist perhaps, new year resolution?
Whilst having self launch/landing skills is something for all to develop, helping other kiters launch/land:
1) creates a safer beach for all beach users;
2) potential to make a new kite friend;
3) develop more of a sense of community at the spot.
It's not just newbies who could accept an offer to launch (or land) - heard and then saw a proficient kiter put his kite into a sign at City Beach last week - if he'd taken an offer to launch a minute or two earlier, there wouldn't have been so much congestion with 3 or 4 kites going up in close proximity at almost the same time, [see point one above] & his kite might not have been trashed [see point 3 above], and then the resulting argument about who's fault it all was [see point 2 above].
It's about the vibe, peeps....
